Dec 21, 2009

Muppet Comic Mondays: Muppet Peter Pan #3

TV ALERT
As reported yesterday, The Muppets will be appearing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Wednesday night on NBC. Muppets Studio's Twitter feed is now reporting that the Muppets will be performing "The 12 Days of Christmas." This appearance is most definitely unmissable, so make sure to check it out!

RINGING OF THE BELLS

Remember that tonight is the night that the Muppet community gets together to ring their bells. Remember to ring some sort of bell of your own tonight at 9:00pm U.S. Eastern Time. To figure out what time that is for you, check here.

Muppet Peter Pan #3Comic Book Review

Ryan Dosier – As we learned last Monday, Peter Pan and the Darling Children had finally arrived at the Neverswamp and faced the menacing (sort of) Captain Hook. We were left with a real cliff-hanger—Piggytink searching for the missing Wendy and Peter, Michael, and John off to meet the Lost Boys.

Issue #3 was released in October 2009.

PLOT
The story opens, once again, with Sam Eagle refreshing us on the plot—as only he can (loudly and patriotically).

We’re soon swept away to the camp of The Hippen Groovee Tribe (portrayed beautifully by The Electric Mayhem) who have saved Janice from her trap in the forest. They soon welcome her into their clan, proclaiming her their prophetic “caged bird who fell from the sky.” They soon give Wendy a guitar, and psychedelic mojo overtakes her as Piggytink finally discovers her. As soon as Piggytink arrives, she flies off again to “rouse the idiots” who are Peter and the Lost Boys.

Meanwhile, Peter assimilates John and Michael into the Lost Boys (Fozzie, Rowlf, and Pepe) and convinces them that the Hippen Groovee are vicious savages who have captured Wendy. This rallies the Lost Boys to fight for her freedom (while Piggytink conveniently takes a bubble bath).

Wendy soon finds Captain Hook in the jungle making himself a new hat (long story). It’s here that he reveals his plight prior to being Captain Hook. He was once a daredevil obsessed with canons (sound familiar?) who dreamed of having a pirate themed show on a ship.

Hook appeals to Wendy’s sympathetic side and quickly offers the assistance of the Hippen Groovee to brainstorm on how to make his dream a reality. This is abruptly interrupted by Peter and the Lost Boys, who, of course, try to attack Captain Hook.

Wendy, with her new found sense of love and harmony, man, puts a stop to Peter’s senseless fighting. Peter won’t stand for this, of course, and the two get into a big fight that causes the group to abandon Peter as soon as dinner is called.

The end of this issue is even more suspenseful than issue #2, and it’s sure to bring us a great finale come issue #4.

WRITING
The writing in this issue is phenomenal—just as it has been throughout the series. I’m amazed at how wonderfully Grace Randolph writes The Electric Mayhem, Bean Bunny, and especially Miss Piggy. Bean has a handful of laugh out loud moments that really make him shine through and Miss Piggy is absolutely perfect throughout; from telling Floyd to get a job, to whacking Rizzo on the head, Piggy is perfect. She is the real highlight of this entire series. Kudos to Grace for bringing back the pig we all know and love!

ARTThis is the only real place I have any discrepancies in this issue. Normally, I’m the biggest supporter of Amy Mebberson’s art, but I wouldn’t be a fair and balanced blog if I didn’t provide some constructive criticism now and again. Amy’s flawless artwork hits its first snag in this issue on one character: Pepe. Now, Amy has mentioned before that she is much more partial to the Jim Henson-era Muppets—and Pepe is extremely difficult to draw—but with, literally, every other character looking gorgeous and perfect, it’s a little striking to see one be illustrated rather poorly.

But other than this one little flub, the rest of the issue is absolutely beautiful. The backgrounds are strikingly gorgeous and there are tons of subtle little comedic nuances with Amy’s drawings that you can catch something new each time you read through. It’s obvious that Amy has a true grasp on all of the characters, and it shows in her work.

CONCLUSIONThis series has the best writing and artwork out of any of the Muppet comic books I’ve seen. Like James Gannon said in the last review, this really feels like it could be a Muppet movie. Most of us are tired of the Muppets portraying literary characters rather than themselves, but I’m here to tell you that this doesn’t feel like the Muppets are acting at all. It feels as if they are playing themselves—they just happen to be named Peter Pan and Piggytink.

Be sure to pick up Muppet Peter Pan as soon as you can!

CASTKermit the Frog as Peter Pan, Miss Piggy as Piggytink, Gonzo the Great as Captain Hook, Janice as Wendy, Scooter as John, Bean Bunny as Michael, Sam Eagle as Mr. Darling/the Narrator, Rizzo the Rat as Mr. Smee, Sweetums as Mr. Starks, Fozzie Bear as Tootles, Rowlf the Dog as Slightly, Pepe the King Prawn as Nibs, Dr. Teeth as His High Grooviness Dr. Goldentooth, Floyd Pepper as Firecheeks Floyd, Zoot as Zoot Runningmouth, Animal as He-Who-Runs-With-Sharks/Animal, The Swedish Chef as himself, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker as gunmen.